Mounted Sheriff Posse Ride the Badlands in Dunn by Deb Kulish - Dunn County Herald

Six members of the Todd County's Mounted Sheriff's Posse of Long Prairie, MN have experienced the beauty of the badlands in Dunn County at Naard Creek Ranch this past week. Roger Deering, Kevin and Becky Boyer, Donna Boyer, Raymond Hendershot, and Laureen Carstonsen and their horses have been staying at the Naard Creek Cabin, owned by Harry and Maureen Olson of Killdeer, ND.

This dedicated group of volunteers are used to wooded areas back home in Minnesota. They wanted to experience some different riding opportunities for their horses and themselves while on vacation. Thus, Dunn County was their choice.

Deering heard about Naard Creek Ranch from Herman Hammel of Staples, MN who gave him some of their brochures. He thought they looked inviting so he wrote to Harry and Maureen last November. He talked it over with some of his fellow volunteers on the posse and they started to plan some vacation time for Dunn County.

As a group; they have been to other state parks in Wyoming and South Dakota but never North Dakota. The group is impressed with the terrain of Dunn County. Six years ago Laureen rode horse in Medora in the state park and was interested in coming back this way.

"Our horses adjusted to the terrain easier than some of us," admitted Hendershot. The horses were in a trailer for eight hours traveling 458 miles from Sauk Centre, MN. The terrain and elevation was quite different for the horses.

When the group arrived on June 9, they were struck with awe. Kevin and Becky agreed. "The territory is amazing," said Becky. "I really like it here; it's nice and quiet," added Kevin.

"The landscape is beautiful and challenging for our horses and us," said Roger. The group really likes the fact they can ride anywhere and not just on trails. The first day here they rode 14 miles in six hours. Harry went along on a ride with the posse members. He was impressed with their horsemanship. Olson especially liked Laureen's horse Harley.

Donna recently sold her horse, so she came along as head cook. "They treat me like a queen. I am so glad they included me. I have really enjoyed being here," said Donna. She is Kevin's mother.

What is extraordinary about this group is that they are dedicated volunteers. They help out the sheriff's department in Long Prairie as a search and rescue team whenever needed. Long Prairie has a population of 2800.

This is no easy task. The area is swampy and heavily wooded. They are required to have their own horses which have to be certified. On a yearly basis the horses go through a obstacle course that will certify them to be a posse horse. In addition they are required to have equipped horse trailers and saddlebags that carry first aid kits. The riders have mounted police training and are required to have CPR and first aid training. The posse group involves 23 volunteers which are set up in squads. When they are needed the sheriff calls the captain.

The Todd County Mounted Sheriff's Posse are planning a pony express ride on June 23 as a fundraiser in which they will donate 100% of the money raised for the Special Olympics in Long Prairie. This group, without hesitation, agreed they would all come back to Dunn County, North Dakota.

The landscape in winter